The road to hell: „Suicide is cowardice”

Hungary is still among the world's leaders in suicide rates. We come fifth among the countries of the former eastern bloc. Death by hanging, poison or suffocation: increasingly, the victims are children. We spoke to specialists about the reasons behind these alarming statistics and about ways to address the situation.

"People act when their pain is greater than their fear. When I tried to commit suicide, i reached a point where I felt there was no point to anything any more," says a 19-year-old girl who attempted suicide when she was 16. "I was fat in primary school, and people teased me for it. I lost weight quickly, but I became depressive and had to go for psychiatric treatment - and then came problems in my private life," the young girl tells. Her father cheated on his wife. The girl found out but did not tell any one - making her mother angry. "Then it turned out that my mother had cancer. It's true she regarded me as an enemy, but I felt that if she disappeared, what reason did I have to live. I pondered the issue for two weeks, looking for a handhold, but I couldn't find anything. I only experienced negative influences at home. One evening I took two boxes of anti-depressive tablets - I'd been collecting them for weeks - and cut my risks. I was lucky - my father found me."

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But there are some who are unable to overcome their problems and continue attempting suicide until they succeed.

In 2006, there were 2,460 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants in Hungary.

This is half the level of 20 years before, but significantly higher than the EU average. Lithuania leads globally, and Hungary is in fifth position, according to the Central Statistical Office. The data show that older people - in the 45-55 age bracket - are most likely to kill themselves. Three quarters of these are men. They take the most drastic measures. Most hang themselves, while suicidal women normally use poison. The next most popular approach is to jump from a high place, and then come firearms and explosives, cutting and stabbing instruments an drowning.

People who have survived a previous suicide attempt are most at risk, as are those who have a history of suicide in the family. Other risk factors include psychological disorders (like depression), alcohol or drug consumption, and problems arising from quality of life factors (low levels of education, existential crises, emotional or relationship issues).

In January, a small town in Wales attracted attention when a seventh teenager committed suicide in less than a year. Things are getting no better here. The statistics show that the number of young people between the ages of 15 and 19 attempting suicide has grown by one and a half times over the past 10 years. Why did they not ask or help? Who can people turn to if they are looking for someone to talk them out of suicide?

Dora Perczel Forintos is a clinical psychiatrist working with teenagers and children. If somebody is dealing with difficulties on their own, she says, and that person's problem-solving ability is below average, then various internal and external factors can lead that person to take their own life.

"Hopelessness is the most common cause of suicide - when somebody sees no way out. After a while, their world contracts and they start to see things in black and white, that this is the end of the world," she explains. A sense of not being needed, linked with depression and personality change, can also lead to suicide - this is the most common factor in young people. Not everyone recognises the symptoms of hidden depression. Young people do not go to the doctor, while parents often feel awkward about dealing with their children's mental problems.

In the United States, some schools have launched courses teaching pupils how to recognise signs of hidden depression among their companions, and teaching them how to help. Perczel Forintos says attempts are being made at launching similar programmes in Hungary.

Training in self-awareness and problem solving can help, helping people in crisis to deal with problems step by step. Telephone helplines can also help, she says.